An important article that's part of legislation to approve same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples in France sailed through the national assembly.

Voting 249-97, the lower house of the French parliament approved the article that would grant marriage equality to France's same-sex couples. The remainder of the legislation, which includes a contentious article to legalize adoption by gays, will be debated in the coming week. The huge vote in favor of gay rights appears to indicate the adoption provision will pass too. The Roman Catholic Church is deeply opposed to the legislation. Read more here.